Balkan states restrict public tobacco use

Five Western Balkan governments have agreed to ban traditional smoking and electronic cigarettes inside all public spaces across the region.

The regional health ministers signed the declaration because up to forty percent of adults in their countries currently consume tobacco products.

The World Health Organization warned that without strict legal limits, Europe will record the highest rate of tobacco consumption in the world by the end of the decade.

Regional authorities admitted they face strong pressure from the tobacco industry, which uses financial arguments and aggressive lobbying to block public health laws.

To counter that influence, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia formed a joint network to enforce the new restrictions without corporate interference.